Thursday, 30 June 2011

My Dad

One of the reasons I had to dash away from Braunston was to get down to south Wales for my Dad's birthday. He's 92 not out!You could say he's led an unremarkable life. Apart from his war service he's never lived more than a mile from where he was born, has been happily married to my Mum (86) for 64 years and they still live in the ex-Council house they moved into after it was built in 1953.Apart from a spell of unemployment after the factory he worked at closed down in the 1960s he's always held a steady - if unexciting - job.But I think he's a remarkable man: Having never enjoyed perfect health at any stage of his life, he finds himself at 92 with one working lung, a dodgy heart, severely restricted vision, deafness and a number of other medical problems as well as the usual ailments associated with old age. But does it get him down? Certainly not! Mentally he's as bright as a button and he maintains an optimistic outlook on life, with his only regret being the vision loss that resulted in him having to give up driving a few years back. He still dresses up smartly to go out, still has a sense of humour and he and mum are obviously still very much in love. All of the character traits I am happy with in my own make up - patience, tolerance, being satisfied with what I've got, come from him and those parts of me I don't like quite so much self-evidently don't.So, "Happy Birthday" Dad. And here's to next year even though it will clash with the show at Braunston!